CECIL HURT: Listen carefully to what Saban is saying

It’s a point that’s been made before, but is worth making again. When Nick Saban holds a press conference, attentive listening is almost always rewarded.

Saban spoke after the Crimson Tide’s Saturday scrimmage at Bryant-Denny Stadium, and it wasn’t the details he gave about the practice that were revealing. It’s always good to get tidbits like “Terry Grant played well again” or “John Parker Wilson threw the ball well” or “Wallace Gilberry had a couple of sacks.” An accumulation of such observations can indicate which players are likely to play prominent roles once the Western Carolina game arrives and a working depth chart — at least for that game — is established.

It’s important to hear those things and take note. It’s equally valid to hear Saban say he “couldn’t care less” about Alabama’s position in the “also receiving votes” category in the initial Associated Press poll. Most coaches say the same thing. Saban’s unique perspective — he did, after all, once guide a team from a No. 19 preseason rating to a BCS title while at Louisiana State — makes his answer worth more than someone who hasn’t had the same experience. But he didn’t stray far from the usual response that such a question elicits.

But perhaps the most telling statement Saban made all day didn’t come while describing the scrimmage. Instead, it came as part of an answer involving special teams play, and the importance it will hold for this year’s Alabama team.

“Don James [who was Saban’s head coach at Kent State] always said that you look at the last 40 guys on your roster and that will tell you what kind of team you’ve got,” Saban said. “That will tell you about your depth. That will tell you about your special teams.”

It’s hard to imagine an answer that has more relevance for this Alabama team.

Saturday scrimmages are often viewed in the media as auditions for first-team status. When Saban mentions a name like Grant or Gilberry, that is taken as a confirmation those guys will be among Alabama’s best players. With those individuals, there is no reason to think otherwise. And as fans, and media start to make a mental list of the top 10, or 20, or even 30 names, on the Alabama roster, there is suddenly a feeling the Crimson Tide isn’t that far away from the teams that have been atop the SEC in recent years.

That’s probably not far off base. Under ideal circumstances, that’s good news for Alabama.

But Don James knows football. Nick Saban knows football. So when Saban makes a point of quoting from the book of James, and the verse he chooses in the one that says “your last 40 players will tell you how good your football team is going to be,” I choose to pay attention.

There was even a corollary to the discussion, as Saban talked about the kind of athletes who often make good special team players.

“You take linebackers, running backs, tight ends, safeties,” he says. “Those are usually guys who can run but have some size. They are usually good special team players,”

Saban’s latter-day teams at LSU had such players in abundance, in part because he evaluated and recruited so well. Sure enough, those LSU teams were also demons at kick coverage.

It’s fair to say those aren’t necessarily the deepest areas on the current Alabama roster.

So the kicking game is a concern. Depth is a concern, made even more valid by a demanding schedule. But that doesn’t automatically mean it’s time to wave the white flag, because there was still more to come in Saban’s dissertation of an answer.

“Special teams is also something you can play with relentless competitive attitude,” he concluded. “You can also be successful that way.”

If that isn’t a telling comment, I don’t know what is.

Nick Saban isn’t simply going to come in and paint a plain picture of his football team, as anyone who has been listening closely for almost eight months now has discerned. He’s too shrewd for that. But if you listen carefully, he’ll reveal at least some of the things that are on his mind, at least sometimes. And Saturday afternoon seemed to be one of those times.

Cecil Hurt is sports editor of the Tuscaloosa News. Reach him at cecil.hurt@tuscaloosanews.com or 205-722-0225.